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HIGH POINT — It's almost laughable to think an event that now attracts more than 70,000 people each spring and fall could essentially run itself without supervision, but that's how the International Home Furnishings Market operated for more than 90 years.
Yes, there was a group that took care of marketing and advertising for the big show, another group in charge of helping attendees find housing, and yet another that helped devise shuttle routes and recruit volunteer drivers. But each of these groups operated independently of one another.
And as the market grew exponentially during the mid- and late-1990s, it became painfully obvious that its infrastructure hadn't grown along with it. Changes needed to be made, but no one knew exactly how to go about making them.
"I don't know how it survived as long as it did without someone being in charge," said High Point City Manager Strib Boynton.
Enter the International Home Furnishings Market Authority, a public-private partnership that took charge of every aspect of the world's largest home furnishings show last July 1.
The result of more than a year of discussions among High Point city officials, key furniture industry executives and showroom building owners, the Market Authority was given the authority to do what the myriad of other organizations affiliated with the trade show could not do — make binding decisions about everything from the dates of the market to the design of the brochure promoting the market's shuttle bus system.
"Historically, the city was a passive observer of the market … but I came to the conclusion the city could no longer sit on the sidelines if we were to successfully compete with other cities around the world," Boynton said.
Tackling the task
Governed by a nine-member board of directors consisting of showroom owners, manufacturing executives and High Point community leaders, the Market Authority quickly embarked on the monumental task of tackling infrastructure issues such as parking, transportation and price gouging that increasingly were drawing the ire of market-goers.
Board members agree that their best decision to date was one of their first — the hiring of Judy Mendenhall as the group's full-time president.
Mendenhall, a former High Point mayor and Chamber of Commerce president, started her new job about a month after the Market Authority was officially in business, and board members say her familiarity with the community enabled her to plunge into the market's complex problems almost immediately.
"I just can't say enough good things about Judy and her wonderful staff," said Board Chairman Steve Kincaid. "If we had hired somebody from outside (High Point), that person would still be learning about market. Instead, Judy was able to hit the ground running."
Kincaid, who also is president of Kincaid Furniture, said Mendenhall's ability to quickly grasp issues and develop strategies for dealing with them has put the Market Authority far ahead of the goals he had in mind when he agreed to take the chairman's post less than a year ago.
"We're six months ahead of where I thought we would be …and I thought that was a pretty aggressive schedule," he said.
For her part, Mendenhall said she's never been one to tackle any job passively and said the market's importance to the High Point area's economy makes it critical to deal with its infrastructure problems expeditiously.
"It's very important to the future of this community, to this industry, and to this state," she said. "It's a daunting task, but hopefully, we are up to it."
Driving toward the goal
Mendenhall admits she comes across as pushy at times, but board members say they're not bothered by that because the Market Authority needs a pro-active president who is adept and setting — and achieving — multiple goals and objectives simultaneously.
"Her brashness and pushiness is an asset," Boynton quipped during a recent board meeting.
Another reason for the group's success to date is the high level of cooperation among board members — especially the showroom executives who are, in effect, competing with each other for exhibitors.
"There has been no protecting of anybody's turf," Kincaid said.
Board treasurer Bruce Miller, who's also chief executive officer of the International Home Furnishings Center, said cooperation has been high because all board members have the same long-term goal.
"We're all on the same wave-length," Miller said. "We all want to improve the infrastructure and make it a more pleasant experience for people coming to his market."
Early results
The Market Authority's biggest accomplishments to date have been the overhaul of the market's often-maligned shuttle system (see accompanying story), and the construction of a database of more than 100 hotels and motels that have rooms available for market-goers.
To help build the database, Mendenhall met individually with top management of each hotel to see how market organizers could better serve them. She said she was surprised to learn that many of them had little, if any previous contact with market officials. However, virtually all were eager to cooperate, and about 80 key hotel employees will take part in the Market Authority's April 3 "fan tour" of the downtown showroom district and its various shuttle bus stops.
She said board members swallowed hard when she first mentioned the $885,000 price tag sought by McLaurin Parking Co. to run the transportation system for the April and October markets. However, she said they quickly realized the overhaul could go a long way toward addressing the many transportation complaints logged by market-goers.
"If you want a first-class transportation system, it's going to cost a lot of money," said Mendenhall. "But I think people are going to like what they see. We're doing our best to encourage people to leave their car keys at home."
About half the McLaurin contract will be paid out of the budget for the current fiscal year, which ends June. The remainder will come from next year's budget.
The board had earlier set aside more than $600,000 of its $1.48 million budget for parking and transportation improvements.
The Judy Mendenhall file
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High Point resident since 1960
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High Point City Council, 1979-1985 and 1989-1992
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High Point Mayor, 1985-1987
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President, High Point Chamber of Commerce, 1994-2001
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President, International Home Furnishings Market Authority, August 2001-present
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